ShayDn

Actually they have one really steep mogul course from the top of the mountain. On a soft day - it's pretty good fun, and the lift is only used for that part of the mountain so you never get any queues. Although you get the occasional falling skier/snowboarder whizzing up to you from behind... and I once had to pull a kid back on to the slope with his pole after he'd slid through the netting at the side of the run :-o

Yup - 100% man made. On the rare occasions that it does actually snow, they get a bit confused and aren't quite sure what to do with it... The most troubling aspect of it all is how brown and dry the farms next to the slopes (and all around Beijing really). All the water they hoard for making snow could easily help the farms to grow more crops, but hey - people gotta ride right? There is also an indoor place near Beijing called QiaoBo - hate to think how much energy they consume in Summer when it's 38°C outside and -1°C inside...

Yup, hot wax all the way. I actually find it's as much effort putting the rub-on stuff on as just doing the full-on thing. Get an old iron or a new one that you're not gonna use for clothes - as cheap as possible. This is the process I follow. Get the right temperature wax - there's warm, cold, and very cold. In Japan mostly I find the cold ones are good - -5° to -15°, that kind of range. 1) Drip the wax off the iron onto the base all over, make long straight lines, wiggly lines, whatever - just keep it even. 2) Run the iron up and down the board to melt the wax and cover the bas

0!!!!

Wait for meeeeeeeeee!!!!!! Any nighta on Saturday? Or will I have to wait till Sunday...

Changchun is supposed to be one of the better places to ski in China too... if you get the chance to check it out would be great to find out more about. Wrap up warm though - it's frrrrrreeeeeeeeezin there!

Reminds me of that Alanis Morrisette song... It's like Snowowow, in a flat place It's a free lift pass, when the hill is closed It's a snow-oh-flake, an yer' stuck at work And isn't it annoying... don't you think? Or something like that... :-)

It's on... like Donkey Kong!

Check out the 7:45 image from Hakuba47's web camera this morning... looks promising no?

Gonna keep an eye on the forecast then... need to book flights from Beijing - so will make a go/no-go call tomorrow I think.

thinking about heading to Hakuba for 3-days Sunday - Tuesday if the dump that's forecast comes through... Is it going to be enough to open the whole resort?

Drop me an email / pm and I'd be glad to offer advice/assistance while you're here... been living in Beijing for over 4 years now. I wouldn't get excited about the snow here though!

And of course... "I'm so chuffed that it chuffed so much last night!"

chuff |tʃʌf| verb [ intrans. ] To deposit vast quantities of snow on an inclined surface for the purpose of enabling one to slide down said surface with a humungous grin. e.g. It chuffed big style last night, no friends on a power-day, see ya! I really hope it chuffs all season long. I can't see my hand it's chuffing so much. p.s. you heard it here first.

The ones nearest Beijing are very small and crowded... last resort when I really need to get some turns in. Doulemeidi and Wanlong are pretty ok - on a par with Karuizawa just about... Safety standards there are pretty good I think. Doulemeidi has the fastest lift in China - a 6-person detachable, very modern. Accommodation ranges from very basic but Cheap (chongli binguan for e.g.) to very expensive but convenient (e.g. Shuanglong at the Wanlong resort) Wouldn't travel to China for the skiing, but if you're in China it's worth a go. Am looking at Hakubus and thinking that Beijin

There are actually many places for Beijingers to get a taste of snow life. For the last couple of years there's been a small (~50m?) slope in Chaoyang Park, and there are a myriad of small artificial hills in the outskirts of Beijing (Nanshan, Shijinlong, Yuyang, Yunfoshan, Jundushan etc... etc...). You can ski by the great wall too. And there's even a nighta option at WanlongBayi - a short bus ride from one of the subway stops in the west of Beijing. Get further afield and there's some relatively reasonable slopes at Wanlong and Doulemeidi in Chongli county. Am sure the Bird'

I use my poles to break a fall when in deep powder... that's why they're both bent now

Head to Ciqikou junction (south from Dongdan) - there's a building on the south-west corner of the junction with a DaZhong electric store sign on it. Inside that building on the second and third floor are a bunch of independent ski/snowboard shops with a good range of stuff and reasonable prices for local brand stuff. Forget major brands though, tends to be really expensive... There's one called Cold Mountain on the 2nd floor, it has a good range of stuff.

If you use Zardoz Notwax - that's 100% pure teflon liquid. It soaks into your wax layer and keeps things nice and slippery. For the top sheets you can use the same stuff and it helps keep them clear of snow.

My main concern is whether the resorts will allow me to use something like this... It's an expensive outlay if I don't get to use it....

I was watching an old Warren Miller film, and saw some guys basically windsurfing on Snow, doing jumps tricks and all sorts. Looked like really good fun, and since I just took up sailing this year, I'm interesting in combining my two favourite sports... Then I found KiteWing - seems like the perfect opportunity because I can use it with Skis (am not a boarder...) and inline skates in summer... Anybody have any experience with these? Anywhere I can try one out in Japan? They're pretty expensive to take a gamble on... but looks like it would be fun. Imagine being able to sail UP the slo

Check out Hokkaido Access Network. Second result in Google if you put that as your search term I think... 2500JPY from Sapporo airport to Niseko.

On the page before the results, there is a drop down box for "Reserved/Unreserved/Green" - choose Unreserved to get the Unreserved ticket cost. The basic fare is, in my understanding, what you'd pay for a normal train, Unreserved shinkansen is still an additional fare to that.

Has anyone heard-of or tried Coldpole? It's a ski pole with a removable grip, and you can fill the pole with drinks... Each one holds about 1/2 a pint. Their website mentions that non-alcoholic drinks are not recommended since they'd freeze in the cold :-D Guess this will restart the "To-drink or not-to-drink" debate again, but I can't help thinking it's a great gimmick for holding your lunchtime tipple without contaminating a camelbak, and avoids on-mountain litter too!